She has slayed the red carpet at Cannes 2018 as expected. But there is more to this beauty that her compelling, jaw-dropping beauty, as she has well proved over the many years. No wonder she stresses the need to not judge women for nurturing their beauty…

Shringar and Substance

Pointing out that it has been an incredible journey for her at Cannes, Aishwarya maintains, From ‘I’m worth it’, it was ‘you’re worth it’ and now, it’s ‘we’re worth it’. This has got a deeper meaning for me…It’s about making women stronger and helping them believe in themselves.” She believes that Shringar has been a part of our mythology, and we need to free ourselves of judging each other. “If you do a lot of shringar, it doesn’t mean that you lack substance.”

She does not feel that she was not taken seriously by the industry because of her stunning beauty. Filmmakers didn’t choose her for her physicality, she states, adding, “They wouldn’t risk their career for it.” Interestingly, she shares that she has been school-girlish with her approach and choices. “I was good at keeping with schedules. I would be sincere because of which sometimes, I just walked out of some great films. Maybe, I should have been fierce and allowed the schedules to just figure themselves out, as I saw with a lot of my colleagues who worked over the years.”

Fashion Policing

She has learnt the art of dealing with scrutiny regarding her appearance in the public space. “That’s a part of being on a public platform. If you’re talking about the comments — whether it’s about the immense praise or critiquing — that’s just part of being a celebrity. That’s fine because it goes with the turf. I’m very easy with it. I don’t diss it or disrespect it. Experience is the best teacher, after all.”

Issues Matter

Aishwarya does not believe in limiting herself as far as the type of role goes. She avers that it does not matter to her if it’s a character, a leading lady or a glamorous part. “People forget I did Iruvar (1997) right in the beginning of my career. I played Shah Rukh (Khan)’s sister in our first film together (Josh, 2000) and I never had issues.” In a similar vein, she is doing Fanne Khan because she is attracted to the larger idea of the film. She plays a pop star, who is idolised by a girl. She emphasises that it’s important to not forget that even our idols have a real side to them. She believes it is important for her as a star to come out and speak about such issues in today’s day and time.